Floating device for loading or unloading a ship in open water



April 1969 R. SMULDERS 3,440,671

FLOATING DEVICE FOR LOADING OR UNLOADING A SHIP IN OPEN WATER FilEd April '7, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTOR.

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Sheet R. SMULDERS FLOATING DEVICE FOR LOADING OR UNLOADING A SHIP IN OPEN WATER ed April 7, 1967 INVENTOR. zeaaaer 5M 01.0525

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April 29, 1969 United States Patent Office 3,440,671 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 3,440,671 FLOATING DEVICE FOR LOADING OR UN- LOADING A SHIP IN OPEN WATER Robert Srnulders, 219 Louis Raemaekersstraat, Schiedam, Netherlands Filed Apr. 7, 1967, Ser. No. 629,284 Claims priority, application Netherlands, Apr. 12, 1966,

Int. Cl. B631), 21/52, 35/00, 51/02 US. Cl. 9-8 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a floating device for loading or unloading a ship in open water, consisting of a body with buoyancy and a second body rotatably supported thereon, which device may be anchored and in the second body is equipped with connections for a supply and discharge line or for a number of supply and discharge lines.

A device of this kind is known, for instance in the form of a loading or unloading buoy, consisting of an annular body with buoyancy, which body is anchored and on which a second body is supported in the form of a swivel table, equipped with the connections for the supply and discharge lines coming from the ship.

The ship, which moors to the buoy, has to keep at a distance from this buoy, which calls for constant attention on the part of the ships crew under certain circumstances, such as a calm.

Because the supply and/or the discharge may take place continuously as well as irregularly, it is desirable to provide for a temporary storage space. Generally a tanker no longer normally in commission as such is used for this purpose, said tanker being moored to the buoy, while its tanks may serve as temporary storage spaces. The ship to be loaded or unloaded comes alongside this tanker in order to take in or deliver a cargo. In this case, too, the difficulty presents itself that the tanker serving as a temporary storage space is constantly drawn towards the buoy, for instance through the weight of the mooring chains. The wind and the current, too, may cause the storage tanker to approach the buoy too closely or touch it. Different attempts have been made to obviate this difficulty. The commonest method, however, consists in keeping the storage tanker at a distance from the buoy by means of its own propulsion mechanism. As will at once be obvious, this is a very costly method, because aboard the storage tanker a crew must be present to keep the propulsion mechanism in running order and attend to it. Influences due to the weather and the currents may cause the ship or the storage tanker to swing about the buoy and may keep it at a distance from the buoy. If the latter happens, this is a favourable situation, for then it is not necessary to pay much attention to keeping the ship at a distance from the buoy. Under certain circumstances, however, this may require a wider berth.

The invention is intended to furnish a solution, in the first place for the problem of keeping the ship at a distance from the buoy and in the second place for the matter of the temporary storage.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the feature that the first-mentioned body consists of a large-sized floating body with at least one long side suitable for mooring a ship and that the second body contains the anchoring members. Whilst in the conventional mooring buoy the floating annular body is anchored, according to the invention therefore the swivel table is anchored, while the floating body is adapted to swing freely about this swivel table, said floating body being so constructed that one or more ships can moor alongside it, in the same way as is possible with a fixed quay. The problem of the ship having to keep at a distance has thus been solved by fastening the ship to the device by mooring it along one side of the device, while the device, however, can still adapt itself freely to the varying direction of the current and the wind. Since such a device is considerably larger than the conventional mooring buoy, according to the invention this device may at the same time be constructed to form a temporary storage space, for which purpose the device may be provided with the requisite tanks or reservoirs.

It Will be obvious that the device does not require a propulsion mechanism of its own any more, and accordingly no crew for maintaining this mechanism in running order and attending to it.

The device according to the invention may be built as an independent new structure, but it is also possible to convert for this purpose a tanker no longer in commis- SlOIl.

When the device is oblong, it is desirable for the swivel table to be mounted near one end, so as to promote the adaptation to the current and the wind.

If the device is used for temporary storage, the loading condition of the device will greatly affect its draught. This calls for further provisions in order to avoid difficulties arising, upon a change of the draught, with regard to the anchoring of the device and with regard to the line sloping towards a fixed point on the bottom of the water. If no relative measures are taken, horizontal displacements of the device may take place, which load the anchoring members unevenly and may overload them. Furthermore the line will not be able to adapt itself to the changing circumstances.

This problem can be solved in a simple way by coupling the anchoring cables with winches and adapting with their aid the length of the cables to the circumstances.

This can, however, also be done by making the length of the connecting line from the device to a fixed point on the bottom variable.

According to the invention, however, this can also be achieved by making the swivel table vertically movable in relation to the hull, e.g., with the aid of screw spindles or by giving the swivel table itself buoyancy. In the latter case the part serving as storage space and the anchored swivel table each float with their own draught, and thus the swivelling part, which is used for temporary storage and alongside which the ships moor, is able not only to swing freely about the anchored part, but also to move freely in the vertical direction in relation thereto.

The invention will now be elucidated further by reference to the drawing, which illustrates an embodiment of the device according to the invention in the form of a ship.

FIG. 1 is a top view.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation.

FIG. 3 shows in cross section a further embodiment.

FIG. 4. shows a different form of the roller tracks of FIG. 3.

The hull 1, in which a storage space, not shown in the drawing, is present, near the bow 3 has a vertical hole 4,

extendary from top to bottom. Fitted in this hole is a rotatable body 5, which near the lower and the upper end of the hole 4 is provided with rollers 6 moving in a horizontal roller track 7 provided on the wall of the hole. The body is adapted to rotate in the hole about its vertical axis by means of these rollers 6 and the roller track 7, and is thus at the same time kept in place in the hole in the hull. The body 5 may have different forms; indeed, it may be open as well as closed. During operation the body 5 is anchored by means of chains 8 and anchorages 9, so that the hull 1 can rotate about the body. In FIG. 1 eight anchorage points are shown.

At the lower end of the body a line 10 sloping towards a fixed point on the bottom has been inserted, which line is suspended or attached in the body. Fitted at the upper end of the body is an elbow 11. The elbow 11 is adapted to rotate in relation to the line 10 in a way not shown in the drawing. The elbow 11 serves to load or unload the tanks in the hull 1 via the line 10.

A tanker to be loaded or unloaded may come alongside and moor, and may be loaded from the tanks of the hull 1 serving as temporary storage spaces or may unload into these tanks. During this process, the ship may swing together with the device about the body 5 when the current or the wind changes. Hardly any provisions need be made for the accommodation of a crew.

It will at once be obvious that the device need not have the form of a ships hull. Any suitable form with at least one long side can be chosen, so that a tanker can come alongside. Nor is it necessary to use the device only for liquids. In principle the device can also be used where other products, such as ores, have to be conveyed from a ship to the shore in a place where no port is present. Instead of the line 10, provision should then be made for a different conveying device between the swivel table or body and the shore.

It will further be obvious that the advantages of the conventional mooring buoy are maintained and its drawbacks eliminated.

In order to enable an adaptation to the variable draught of the hull 1, it is possible to make the length of the cables 8 and of the line 10 adjustable.

FIG. 3 shows a possible solution to obtain the vertical adjustability in an automatic way. FIG. 3 is a cross section through the hull 12 of a tanker changed in accordance with the invention. This hull has storage tanks 13 and a vertical hole 14 equal to the hole 4 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In said hole 14 an annular body 15 has been provided having buoyancy. Said body 15 has been provided with rollers 16 spaced around its circumference and engaging roller tracks 17 on the inner wall of the hole 14. Said rollers 16 are provided in different horizontal planes although a construction with said rollers only in one horizontal plane is possible as well. The tracks 17 extend vertically but they may be inclined slightly so as to extend helically which might offer a better equilibrium between the forces operating on the body 15 (see FIG. 4).

Within a central hole 18 of the body 15 a structure 19 has been supported by means of the rollers 20 and 21. This structure 19 carries the line 10 and has a swivel 22 with flexible lines 23 towards the storage tanks 13. The anchoring chains 8 are also connected to said structure. It will be understood that upon rotation of the hull 12 around the anchored structure 19 the body 15 will rotate with the hull.

However, if the draught changes the hull will move with respect to the body 15.

Owing to the buoyancy of the body 15 this body and the structure 19 will take a fixed position in relation to the surface of the water so that no changes of the chains 8 and the line 10 will be necessary while yet the hull may have its own draught in accordance with the loading condition of the device. The structure may have buoyancy as well.

The roller tracks may be inclined as schematically indicated in FIG. 4 for a better equalisation of the forces acting upon the second body.

What I claim is:

1. A floating device for loading or unloading a ship in open water, said device consisting of a large sized buoyant body with at least one long side adapted for mooring a ship and a second buoyant body supported within a hollow space of the first buoyant body in such a way that the two buoyant bodies can rotate and move vertically with respect to each other, said second buoyant body containing anchoring members as well as connections for supply and discharge lines and being located between the ends of the large buoyant body but near one end, said large buoyant body being provided with containers for the temporary storage of the material to be loaded or unloaded.

2. A floating device according to claim 1, said second buoyant body comprising a buoyant hollow annular member with a plurality of rollers on its outer side engaging roller tracks on the inner wall of a recess in the large buoyant body and arranged such as to allow relative vertical movements between said large buoyant body and the annular member, said member supporting an inner structure by means of vertical and horizontal rollers allowing it to rotate with respect to the annular member, said inner structure containing said anchoring members and the said connections.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,086,367 4/1963 Foster 98 X 3,335,690 8/1967 Busking 9-8 X 3,366,982 2/1968 Sutton 98 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

J. L. FORMAN, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 114-230, 5 

